The 'Reverb Scam' Gets Scarier

There has been a huge influx of fake listings on Reverb lately and their scamming tactics are always constantly changing. This new iteration isn't just trying to scam you for the value of the guitar - they are going after your bank account! Stay safe out there friends

🐕 Episode Guide:
0:00 - Intro - Check Links in the Description
0:11 - A Usual Day on Reverb
1:07 - What They're Doing Now
2:15 - The Old Dummy Package Scam
3:15 - Why Scammers Want International Transactions
4:23 - What Happens If You Take the Bait
5:45 - Keep Your Business on Reverb
6:01 - When In Doubt, Ask For Photos
6:45 - How Could Reverb Solve This?
9:26 - Red Sparkle Les Paul Deluxe
11:13 - More Scam Examples to Learn From
12:17 - 2016 Gibson Flying V Standard
12:43 - 1972 Gibson Les Paul Custom Ebony
13:56 - Gibson Celebrity Series Firebird V
14:55 - 2012 Gibson Paul Landers Signature LP
15:59 - 2010 Gibson Thunderhorse Explorer
17:06 - Stay Safe Out There!
17:38 - What to Watch Next!

🎞️ Videos Mentioned:
0:59 Fake Listings on Reverb Warning

1:16 2022 Gibson Kirk Hammett Greeny Les Paul Collector's Edition

1:20 2023 Gibson Kirk Hammett "Greeny" Les Paul Custom Shop Murphy Lab Aged

1:24 2020 Adam Jones Signature 1979 Les Paul Custom Silverburst

1:42 Gibson Custom Shop Fast and Furious Les Paul Custom

2:15 Trogly's Guitar Unboxing Vlog 39

2:58 April Fools 2020 $1 Toy Guitar Review

9:59 1975 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Basalt Blue

12:20 Gibson Flying V Standard Blue Quilt Top

14:02 1990 Gibson Custom Shop Original Firebird V Purple Violet Burst

14:09 1991 Gibson Celebrity Series SG Standard

14:58 2012 Gibson Rammstein Paul Landers Signature Les Paul Studio

15:24 The SNAKEPIT Counterfeit Les Paul Story

16:32 2011 Gibson Thunderhorse Explorer Silverburst

⚙️ Gear Used to Make the Show: (AFFILIATE LINKS)
Guitar + Recording:
Camera:
Affiliate Links are found in this description + comments section - clicking and purchasing items from partners will help financially support the show.

[douglash]

Never ever give anyone a two factor auth code folks. No matter who or what they claim to be. EVER!

[Kahuna]

Reverb needs to implement a security check on all buyers and sellers to verify and weed out scammers.

[sgt.grinch]

If you have a delivery scan on an item sent through the Postal Service, it can be tracked to the delivery point. The local Postmaster has GPS coordinates that they can access but customers cannot access the information. You must contact the local office to get the information to assist in filing for your claim. I know how this works, I’m a recently retired Postmaster.

[mtjenkins]

I work at a fairly well-known guitar shop, and we (along with several others) have had our pics, listings, and descriptions copied verbatim and spoofed into multiple fake websites over the last few weeks. Bottom line: if the price looks too good to be true, it is!

[nsp]

The more horror stories like this I hear, the more convinced I am that the way to go is simply not buying used guitars online. Go to a store, try the instrument, then decide.

[fatboysgarage]

I almost got scammed by a buyer on Reverb. He "bought" the Soloist I was selling and cancelled the transaction. Luckily, I hadn't shipped it out yet. Then, he tried to report me to Reverb for being a scammer myself. They reviewed the listing and my messages with him prior to purchase and took my side. I found out about a week later that the "buyer" runs an eBay store and was only buying it to dox me because I left him honest feedback on an item. After that, I changed to selling in person in a public place.

[bluzzjazz]

I never buy anything not based in the USA. My only foreign purchase was a Duesenberg from a very reputable shop in Germany. I received the guitar in less than 24 hrs from amazing!

[thehollowaytape]

My favorite is when the Sold Listings show the scam listings for well below market as well, this can easily shift prices in the used market if enough listings are there at once.

[fredsalter]

Thanks for the great security tip! Sucks that musicians are getting scammed, too.

[joermnyc]

Happening less, but as a seller there used to be a lot of “I am interested, or “my uncle is looking for this” with the “please contact me” at and either an e-mail or a phone number, to try to scam you off of Reverb.
Reverb seemed to have put in a filter that flags these and blocks the person because the message will say “you cannot message this person”, though I still reported them anyway.

[adamdarmstaedter]

I worked at a music store in the shipping dept and we were responsible for charging the customer's cards or collecting from PayPal. We got scammed once where someone used a hacked PayPal account to order a mid range acoustic guitar. We ended up having to pay the hacked person back the money AND we lost the guitar. Luckily it only happened that once, but that was like 8 or 9 years ago.

[Mozart]

I bought a $400 Squier Strat through the mail, and THAT direct from Fender. I would NEVER EVER buy an expensive, vintage guitar without touching it myself.

[Zoso]

Two of my last three Reverb sales had suspicious buyers sending me sketchy messages. 😒

[jcoffeycup]

Kinda makes long for the old days when you get your friends and drive to the city to visit guitar stores. Ancient history, I know.

[positivelydark]

The same thing is happening on ebay. I was recently scammed for a Gibson Les Paul custom black beauty and am going through the process of trying to get a refund. The seller shipped the package to a different address in my city so it showed it as being delivered even though it was not delivered to my address. The post office looked into it and said the package details they were able to look up was that it was a small box and clearly not a guitar and they think it was a scam. However, I did not buy it from a country outside of the USA. This ebay seller is based in Colorado which is why I made the purchase.

[xRepoUKx]

I once reported a fake boutique pedal that was listed there, I was completely ignored & the listing wasn't taken down.

[carlosdeno]

They’re absolutely utter scum! Great video and the ultimate respect for passing on this information.

[boboutelama]

If you pay 3'800 dollars for a guitar that has been intensely modified in every corners during her life because it's "collection"... you have a money spending problem.
This is an old fart, half destroyed guitar with holes at every corner where they shouldn't belong.

[ericolson]

Lately I've noticed that the fishy late night overseas Reverb listings go up already marked "In someone's cart!" but then hours later it's still there and still in a cart.

Wouldn't put it past scammers to work multiple accounts to create urgency that overrides common sense.

[andrew-pc]

If Reverb don’t figure this out and end it, their platform won’t last.